Navy carries the weight

4 JUne 2007warning.pngThe date "4 JUne 2007" was not understood. By http://www.defence.gov.au/news/navynews/editions/5009/topstories/story5.htm

HMA ships Manoora and Betano have been involved in a successful joint exercise with the Army's new M1A1 Abrams tank.

During the exercise inside Darwin Harbour, the RAN's amphibious transport ship Manoora embarked both the 61.3 tonne M1A1 Abrams tank and M88 Hercules recovery vehicle.

The tank was then transferred by the ship's crane into heavy landing craft HMAS Betano, which was berthed alongside Manoora.

Betano then sailed across Darwin Harbour to HMAS Coonawarra, where the M1A1 drove ashore.

The exercise was designed to test the ability of the Navy Fleet units to load, carry and deploy the Army's main battle tank.

Commanding Officer of Manoora, CMDR Charles McHardie, was pleased with the outcome of the trial.

"The trial proved that we could embark and administratively deploy the M1 Abrams and also demonstrated the high degree of cooperation between ADF services," he said.

Major Glenn Ryan, Officer Commanding B Squadron 1 Armoured Regiment from the Army's 1st Brigade was also pleased.

He said: "The trial was a complete success.

"It was the first in a number of tests that will be conducted with the Navy's amphibious Fleet units so that this potent piece of armour can be efficiently moved to where it is needed."